Film feeding and winding apparatus



EASS

Jaim., W, w50 a. W. DOYLE ET AL FILM FEEDING AND wINDING APPARATUS 8 shams-sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 13, 1943 Jan. 17, 1950 l. w. DoYLE ETAL 2,495,151

FILM FEEDING AND WINDING APPARATUS I Original Filed4 Nov. 15, 1943 A 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 FILM FEEDING AND WINDING PPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 13, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TORS Jam., W, H95@ l. W. DOYLE ET AL.

FILM FEEDING AND WINDING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 13, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 I lak- JSA Jan. l?, E95@ l. w. DOYLE ET AL 294957163 FILM FEEDING AND WINDING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. l5. 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jano E7 w50 a. W. DOYLE ET AL Y 2949593 FILM FEEDING AND WINDING APPARATUS Original Filed4 Nov. 13, 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 UHII III 69v az IIIIIIHIH u. w. DOYLE ETAL v 2,495ml FILM FEEDING AND WINDING APPARATUS Jam., 17 R95@ Original Filed Nov. 13, 1943 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Jams. M,

l. w. DOYLE ET Al. 495%?- FILM FEEDING AND WINDING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 13, 1945 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 TTOP/VE YS Patented Jan. 17, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FILM FEEDING AND WINDING APPARATUS Original application November 13, 1943, Serial No. 510,146, now Patent No. 2,403,587, dated July 9, 194.6. Divided and this application November 2, 1944, Serial No. 561,555

12 Claims. l This invention relates to cameras, and more particularly to a magazine adapted to be detachably secured to an aerial camera.

Aerial camera magazines of the character here under consideration are designed to carry strip film which, in the case of a large camera capable of taking pictures 9" X 18, for example, has considerable weight. Cameras of this type are used for mapping and reconnaissance work, and most of the cameras in present use are war-time adaptations of conventional aerial mapping cameras. The exigencies of war-time applications of these cameras, however, demonstrated that the film capacity thereof was insufficient, one reason for which being that it is often necessary to mount the camera in an inaccessible position in the aircraft, thus making it difficult if not impossible to effect magazine interchange to renew the film supply during a mission. v

It further became evident that available forms of magazines could not be overloaded thus to increase the film :carrying capacity and still operate eciently, by reason of dilculties arising through the substantially increased factors of inertia and momentum of the loaded lm supply and take-up spools. Additional difficulties were encountered in yaccurately metering the film where an extremely large quantity thereof was loaded in the magazine because of the very substantial variation in the diameter of the roll of lm on the spools during the taking of a large number of successive photographs. y

Still further difficulties were encountered in properly supporting the heavily loaded supply and take-up spools, particularly during evasive action of the aircraft, during which the aircraft and accordingly the camera is subjected to violent stresses by reason of the evolutions of the aircraft. i It is accordingly among the objects of this invention to provide a large capacity magazine for an aerial camera which is extremely sturdy and durable in construction, efficient and dependable in operation, and capable of obviating the above-mentioned difculties in addition to others in a practical and eicient manner.

This application is a division of the cepending application of Irving W. Doyle and Reginald A. White for Camera magazine, Serial No. 510,146, filed November 13, 1943, which issued on July 9, 1946, as Patent No. 2,403,587.

The invention -accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, as will be exemplied in the structure to be hereinafter described,

be indicated in the following claims.

In the drawing, wherein we have shown one form of our invention,

Figure v1 is a top plan View of the magazine with the cover thereof removed to illustrate various internal mechanisms;

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation taken the line` 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section showing in greater detail the mechanism shown in the right-hand portion of Figure 2;

l Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section showing in greater detail the mechanism in the left-hand portion of Figure 2;

along Figure 5A is a fragmentary section taken along the line 5A 5A of Figure 5;v

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal staggered section taken along the line 6 6 of Figure 5;

' Figure-7 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken along the line 'I 'i of Figure 4;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a planetarylike gear system comprising apart of the film take-up spool clutch;

Figure 9 is a vertical section taken along the line 9 9 of Figure 4;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line |0 Ill of Figure 4;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line I I II of Figure 5;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line l2 l2 of Figure 5;

Figure 13 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a portion of the nlm supply and take-up spool support as viewed along the line 13 13 in Figure 1; and,

Figure 14 is a side elevation of an aerial camera including our film magazine.

Similar reference characters refer to similar -parts throughout the various views of the drawing.

In Figure 14 we have shown an aerial camera which consists of a cone-shaped body 20 in which the lens and shutter is disposed, a body 2| in which is contained the camera driving motor and the main camera winding mechanism, and our roll lm magazine, generally indicated at 22', which is adapted to be detachably mounted on the body. The camera is adapted to be mounted on aircraft often in a positionv wherein itI `is inaccessible during flight, `and accordingly the camera is fully automatic and remotely controllable by the prope'rindividual of the Vaircraft personnel. The following description, however, is directed solely to magazine 22.

As shown in Figure 2, magazine 22 includes a base casting 23 having four upwardly extending sides 24, 25, 26 (Figure 1) and 21, the upper edges of which are provided with a continuous groove or slot 28 in which is received the edge of a cover 29 which is detachably secured on the magazine to cover the operating mechanisms therewithin. Thus base 23, the walls extending therefrom, and cover 29, form an enclosure in which are disposed a lm supply spool 3U, a lm take-up spool 3| and various operating mechanisms therefor which will be described in detail below. Disposed within the above-described enclosure is an upstanding bracket or support 32 (Figure which is fastened to base 23 by suitable screws 33 and which, as shown in Figure 2forms a partition which lies between the film spools 3|)v and 3| and the operating mechanism therefor. Secured to partition 32 in any suitable manner is a casting 34 (Figure 10) which, with the partition, comprises a unitary sub-assembly generally indicated at 35, constituting practically the entire operating mechanism. Thus it may be seen that this sub-assembly 35 is fastened to the base 23 of the magazine by screws 33 so as readily to be installable or removable with respect thereto as a unit. At that side of the base casting 23 opposte 'from the assembly 35 is an upright casting 3B (Figure 1`) which is fastened to the base casting 32 in any suitable manner. Casting 36 is tied to partition 32 by a tie plate 31 fastened at its opposite ends to the partition and casting by suitable screws. Thus the assembly is sufciently rigid to withstand the substantial stresses to which the camera is subjected during use.

As shown in Figure 12, castingv 32 has secured to the left-hand side thereof a bearing element 38 which rotatably receives a spindle 39 on the right-hand end of which is fastened a pivot 40 adapted to enter into one end of theiilm supply spool 30 (Figure 2). The other end of the film supply spool is received on a pivot 4| (Figure 1) which is kmovable between its solid and dotted line positions, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

Film spool mounts (Figures 1 and 13) As shown in Figure 10, partition 32 also has mounted therein a small ball bearing 42 which is coaxial with a similar bearing 43 mounted in casting 34 and these two bearings rotatably mount a spindle 44 to the inner end of which is fastened av pivot 45 adapted to receive one end of the film take-up spool 3|. The other end of the take-up spool 3| is mounted on 'a pivot 46 (Figure l), which is movable toward and away from the take-up spool in the same manner as supply spool pivot 4|. Thus pivots 4| and 46 are respectively mounted Von arms 41 and 48 which are hinged to casting 36 by means of pins 49 and 50. This hinged connection permits the arms 41 and 48 to be swung toward and away from their respective iilm spools to permit insertion and removal of the spools from the magazine.

, As is better shown in Figure 13, springs 5| and 52 are respectively associated with pins 49 and 50 and bear respectively against arms 41 and 48 to bias these arms into their spool engaging position, as shown in soli-d lines in Figure 1. Preferably we provide a bar 53, pivoted as at 54 to upright casting 36, and adapted to be swung to the position shown so that its ends lie in back of arms 41 and 48, thus to prevent swinging of the arms against the bias of their springs from their spool engaging position. Hence the spools are prevented from becoming dislodged accidentally during operation of the camera. When it is desired to remove the spools from the magazine, bar 53 may be rotated 90, whereupon arms 41 and 48 may be pivoted about their respective pins, thus permitting removal of the film supply and take-up spools. Preferably there is a spring (not shown) associated with bar 53 and its pivot, which biases the bar to its horizontal position shown in Figure 13, so as to preclude any possibility of the bar remaining in its unlocked Iposition after the lm spools are in place. Although springs 5| and 52 press arms 41 and 48 together with their Spool pivots 4| and 46 into spool engaging position, these .springs are Vnot sufficiently strong to support the full weight of the loaded spools in the event that the magazine should become tilted during operation. Thus it will appear that bar 53 locks the spool pivot supporting arms in proper operative position, assuring maintenance of the film spools in their proper positions during operation of the camera.

Film feeding mechanism (Figures 2, 4, .9, 10, 11)

Fastened' to magazine base 23 (Figure 10) is a focal plane casting, generally indicated at 55, which is secured to the magazine base in any suitable manner over an aperture 23a in the base. The edges of base 23 on opposite sides of aperture 23a are slightly recessed to form opposed grooves, such as groove 23h, between the focal plane casting 55 and base 23 for the passage of film. Thus when the film is loaded in the magazine, the leading end thereof is drawn from the iilm supply spool 33 (Figure 2), is passed over a guide roller 51 (Figures 2 and 5) between focal plane casting 55 (Figure 10) and base casting 23, around a drive roller 58, beneath a pressure roller 59 (Figure 4), over a tension roller 60, and thence onto the take-up spool 3| where it may be secured in any suitable manner as, for example, by a piece of tape. Thus, as will now be described, the film is drawnv from the supply spool in accuiate amounts through the operation of the mechanism in assembly 35 (Figure 10) which drives the feed roller 58 (Figure '1) and also the take-up spool 3| (Figure 10).

The entire lm magazine mechanism is operated from the camera winding mechanism in ,body 2| (Figure 14) by means of a slotted coupling 6| (Figures 2 and 11), the bottom surface of which is flush with the bottom of base 23. Coupling 6| (Figure 11) is fastened to the lower end of a shaft 62 journaled by a ball bearing 63 mounted in the lower portion 34a of casting 34. To the upper end of shaft 62 is attached a bevel gear 64 which meshes with a bevel gear 65 secured on one vend of a stud shaft 66 journaled at its opposite ends in ball bearings 61 and 68 mounted respectively in casting 34 and bracket 3,2. Bevel gear includes a hub portion 65a on Awhich is fastened a large spur gear 69 (see Figure 2) which meshes with a gear 10 which, as

shown in Figure 10, is secured to a hub 1| pinned to a shaft 12, the opposite ends of which are mounted in ball bearings secured respectively in casting 34 and bracket 32.

Also pinned to shaft 12 is an arm 13 (Figure 4) which carries a stud 14 on which is mounted a gear sector 15. Gear sector 15 (Figure 10) includes an arm 16 to which is fastened a stud 11 rotatably Icarrying a roller or cam follower 18. Follower 18 extends into a groove 19 formed in a fixed cam` Sli-Which maybe fastened in any suitable manner to casting V34. Thus, .as shaft 12 rotates, arm 13 and accordingly gear sector rotate with it to drive the roller or follower 18 around in the cam groove 18.

` Loosely mounted on shaft 12 is ari-assembly comprising a gear 8| and a gear 82 which, as shown in Figure 10,` are'fastened toa hub 83 and accordingly rotate together. Gear sector 15 (Figure 4) meshes with gear 8|, while gear' 82 meshes with a large gear 84 which in turn meshes with a smaller gear 85 fastened tothe spindle 88 on one end of which the lm feeddrive roller 58 is carried. It will now appearthat upon operation of the mechanism in body 2| (Figures 11, 14) disc Y8| and accordingly shaft `|52 and bevels 64 and 85 (Figure 11) are driven, -causing rotation'of gears 69 and 10. Thus gear 18, in turn, drives shaft 12, and as the shaft rotates, arm 13 carries gear sector 15 and cam follower 18 with it. This gear train is so proportioned that the arm 13 makes one rotation per cycle. As this arm rotates, gears 8| and 82 are given a motion consisting of the resultant of the motion of arm 13 about shaft 12 and the motion ofsector 15 with respect to arm 13.

The position of these parts, as shown in Figure 4, corresponds to their position at the beginning or at the end of the cycle. In this position, as arm 13 rotates counterclockwise, roller 18 is forced toward the center of shaft 12 by groove 19 so that the motion of gear sector 15 withirefspect to arm 13 exactly cancels the motion of the arm. Therefore, gear 82 remains stationary during this initial movement. When arm 13 hajs rotated sufficiently for roller 18 toreach, for example, the position 18a, the nathv ofthe rollerls changedso that the y motion imparted to gear '82 by means of gear sector 15 operating through gear 8| will be added to the motion imparted to gear 82 due to the rotation of arm 13. If gear sector 15 were restrained from moving with respect to arm 13, the sector teeth would limpart a motion to gear 82 exactly the same as the motion of arm 13. In other words, if roller 18 does f not move closer to or farther from the center of shaft 12, the entire arm assembly will move as a unit, carrying gear 82 with` it. If roller 18 is permitted to move closer tothe center of shaft 12, it decreases the motion imparted to gear 82. If roller 18 moves away from the center of .shaft 12, as arm 13` rotates the motionrimparted to gear 82 is increased. Thus, as noted above, during the rst few degrees of motion at the beginning of the-cycle,`roller 18 moves closer to the center of shaft 12 and at such a rate, by reason of the contour of groove 19, that gear'82 is not moved at all. Following this initial movement, the motion of the roller transversely of shaft 12 is controlled so as to accelerate gear 82 gradually until roller 18 reaches a positionindicated approximately at 1817. From this position -until the roller reaches the position indicated at 18e,

ythe roller is forced outward from the center 'of shaft 12 at a constant velocity, and the relative motion of gear sector 15, with respectto arm 13, added to the motion of the arm itself, imparts va constant velocity to gear 82. From the position 18e to the position 18d of the roller, the roller is controlled insuch a way as to effect the gradual deceleration of gear 82. From position 18d to its solid line position, roller 18 is moved closer and closer to the center of shaft 12, andat a constant rate designed to cancel exactly the rotated motionsandleave gear `82 atrest The solidflirie position of roller 18 represents the end -'of the cycle, as well as the beginning thereof.

`ofv friction thereof, and thus hold the Afilm slippage to a minimum to assure' high accuracy of lmnietering during the cycle. "During the entire'l operative cycle of the magiazine in which arm 13 makes one completeV` counterclockwise revolution, coming to rest at the same position it occupied at the beginningv of the cycle, it is obvious that gear 8,2 will also be given one complete turn counterclockwise. The motion of gear 82, however, does not start. at the beginning of the cycle, and furthermore its motion is finished before the end of the cycle.

The gear ratio between gears 12, 84iand 85 is `calculated to rotate the feed roller 58 vsufciently that its periphery will move the required amount of film during the cycle, and accordingly draw the appropriate amount from the supply spool 3U (Figure 2) through the magazine. Thisfilm must, of course, be wound on the take-up spool 3|, and wehave provided a mechanism to accomplish this which'will now be described.

Film take-up mechanism As shown in Figure l0, sub`assembly35 includes a drum 81 loosely mounted on shaft 4 4", which, as pointed out above, carries pivot '|15 at its linner end. The pivot supports 'the film take-up spool 3|. Wrapped partially around drum 81 isa thin metallic strip or brake band 88 (Figure 4) one end of which is fastened as at 89 to casting 34. The other end of this brake band is secured 'to a rigid channel-shapedbar 90, the lower end of which is attached to a post 9| fixed to an arm 92, which arm is pivotally mounted on spindle 86 (Figures 2 and 9), Arm 92 (Figure 7) has itsv counterpart in an arm 95 at the opposite end of roller 89, and the free .ends of these pivotedvarms rotatably support the film tension roller 60 which, as shown in Figure underlies the film strip F, as the film is wound on take-up spool 3|. Suitable springmeans (not shown) are provided for biasing the arms 92 and 94, and accordingly the tension roller 60, clockwise, as viewed in Figure 2, thus to tension vthe lm between the feed roller 58 and the take-up spool 3|.

The upper end of the brake band bar is slida-bly 4disposed between a pair of fixed pins 95 and 9B, and as arm 92 pivots counterclockwise under the tension ofthe lm, pin 9| moves tofward the take-up spool 3|, thus'permitting bar 90 to move to the left, which loosens the engagement between strip 88 and drum 81. The loosening of the engagement between strip 88 and drum 81 occurs when the slack in the film strip F has been substantially taken up. When there is too much slack in the lm strip, then thespring bias on arms 92 and 94 pivots these arms clockwise, as viewed in Figure 2, which moves pin 9| away from the take-up spool 3| and accordingly tightens' strip 88 about drum '81.' As' will be pointed out below, the loosening of the stripmon the drum stops the feeding movement of the drum, whereasy the tightening of. the strip 88 on drum 81 causes the nlm take-up spool to be driven and hence to wind'lm thereon.

Referring to Figure 10, spindle 44 has pinned thereto a` gear 91, the hub of which rotatably supports a gear 98 which meshes with gear 82 (see also Figure 1). Attached vto gear 98 (Figores Sand are two studs 99 and |00, which rotatably carry meshing gears |0| and |02, respectively. Gear |0| also meshes with gear 91 while gearA |02 meshes with a gear |03 which, as shown in Figure 10, isl loosely mounted on spindle 44 and. is yattached to drumv 81. Accordingly, it may be seen that as long; as the brake band 88 is tight enough to hold drum 81 stationary, gear |103 is alsoheld'stationary. Since gear 82 (Figure 4) is rotated counterclockwise'during the winding portion ofthe operative cycle, gear 98 is rotated'clockwise. Hence.,-since gear |03 (Figure'li) isYL held stationary by drum 81, clockwise rotation will be given to gear |02 as its center is carriedv around the center of shaft 44 by reason of the rotation of gear 98. This causes gear |0| to rotate counterclockwise about its center, thus tov impartv clockwise rotation to gear 91 which, als-noted above, is pinned to shaft 44 (Figure 10) Thus shaft 44 is caused to rotate and spool pivot 45 accordingly rotates the take-up spool 3|, thus winding up the slack lm onto the spool.

When the nlm slack has been entirely taken up, further rotation of the take-up spool 3| resuits in a tension in the film which presses the tension roller 60 (Figure 2) downwardly, causing the engagement between brake band 88 and drum 81 to slacken, as described above, thus permitting the drum 81 to rotate, rather than remain stationary. Oi course, if the gear which rotates shaft 44 is not driven, the take-up spool remains stationary. The amount of the spring bias on arms 92 and 94 (Figure 7). tends to prevent any more film from being wound on spool 3| and the spool either then slows down or stops. As it slows down, shaft 44 (Figure 10) likewise slows down, as well as gear |03. If gear 9'l'slows down suiiiciently or stops, gear |0| will have to rotate clockwise (Figure 8) as its center, which is mounted on gear 98, is moved clockwise about the center of shaft 44 (Figure 4) due to the driving force provided by gear 82 which, of course, cannot be stopped during the operative cycle. This clockwise motion of gear |n| (Figure 8) resists in counterclockwise rotation of gear |02 which, in turn resultsin clockwise rotation of gear |03 and accordingly drum 81 (Figure 10). However, since the brake band 88 isV loose, the drum will revolve with no appreciable effort. Actually during the winding cycle, brake band 88 is neither tight nor completely loose. Hence drum 81 and gear |03 are permitted .to slip somewhat so that shaft 44 is turned just enough to keep the slack out of the film byv taking up this slack on spool 3| as fast as the iilm feed roller 58 (Figure 4) feeds lm through themagazine. Also, the arms 92 and 94 (Figure 4) are held substantiallyin a position of` equilibrium or vbalance in which the brake band 88 (Figure 4) is neither tight norc'ompletely loose, as noted above. Thus the tension in the nlm is balanced by the force of the spring bias on arms 92 and 94. Inasmuch as this spring bias is' relatively light, it results ina greater slipping of the clutch comprising brake band 88 and drum 81,A so that the torque input to gear 98 is relatively light since it need be merely suiiicient to maintain the above-mentioned tension in the -lm. Thus it will appear that the torque input to the lmtake-up spool driving mechanism is a function of the tension-of the film between the lm feed roller 58 andthe take-up spool 3|. It accordingly follows that the lm take-up mechanism described comprisesfin effect, a slipping clutch in which the transmitted torque may be controlled from an extremely low value to an eX- tremely high value as load conditions change, by meansl of the slack in the film itself.

.As noted hereinabove, trouble has been encountered in previous magazines of the character under consideration, particularly large magazines, whenever a large mass of iilm was used, and/or whenever the film had to ber wound in an extremely short period of time. It is apparent that the gear ratio to the take-up spool 3| must be sufficiently high to wind the entire length of lml required during the permitted portion of theV operative cycle with'the take-up spool empty. This portion of the cycle may be somewhere around 300 of the input winding shaft. Near the end of the mission when a large diameter of film has been wound on the take-up spool, the entire length of film maybe taken up in as little as where a spool of the large capacity contemplated herein is used. Since the speed of the input shaft remains constant, the film winding speed under these conditions is extremely high, which means simply that a greater load is applied to the mechanism at the instant the film is started. This also means that when the required length of film has been wound there is substantial momentum generated which must be absorbed in order to stop the film feed and take-up spools at the right time. Thus it follows that where the is fed by means of roller 58 (Figure 8) the lm isalways moved its required length through; out the same portion of the cycle, regardless of the diameter of lin on either the supply or take-up spools. This, of course,y results in much less strain on the various parts of the operating mechanismof the magazine, and also in considrably less load on the camera drive mechanism in case drive 2| (Figure l). Furthermore, through the provision of the gradual acceleration of the film feed drive mechanism at the beginning of the operative cycle, and the gradual deceleration at the end of the cycle, the driving mechanisms are not strained and peak loads are obviated. Furthermore, this gradual acceleration and deceleration of the film greatly lends to the accuracy of the rfilmmetering, as it precludes any possibility" of the lms slipping between the film feed roll 58 and the pressure roll 59 (Figure 7).

Film supply spool brake Inasmuch as it is of great importance that a new expanse of film be fed into proper exposure position in a very short period of time, substantial momentum is generated in the lm supply spool 3|), particularly when it is full of nlm, and the spool would, if left vfree to rotate, coast at the end of the winding cycle and permit enough slack to form which might either cause the film to be scratched or to become jammed in the magazine, or both. We have, accordingly, provided a supply spool braking mechanism which will now be described.

'lhesupplyl spool braking system is shown in Figures 1, 2, 5, 6 and 12. As shown in Figure 12, the iilm supply spool spindle 39 is rotatably mounted in bushing 38 and on the spindle is pinned thel hub of a drum |04. Encircling drum |04 is a brake band |05, one end 05a. of which is attached to .a stud |06 (Figure 2) mounted on ybracket 32the other end 10517 of the brake band being attached to a rigid channel-shaped member lll'l similar to channel member 90. This channel slidably extends through and is guided by a pair of spaced pins |08 and 'm9, secured to and extending from bracket 32, the other end of channel ll' being attached to a pin l l0 (Figure 5) fastened to an arm Hl, the lower end of which rotatably supports one end of roller 51. The -upper end of arm I l I is pivotally secured, as by a screw H2 to a small bracket H3 which is fastened to the base casting 23. `The opposite end of roller 57 (Figure 1) is mounted on a similar arm H4 pivoted to a similar bracket i I5. These arms Hl and H4 are given a clockwise bias, as .viewed in Figure 5, by a pair of springs IIB and l i611, the opposite ends of which are attachedrespectively to the arms and the brackets H3 and H5. x

V As shown in Figure 2, the film F is fed from supply spool 3Q over and under roller 51 and accordingly the springs H6 and H6a tend to take up the slack in the film as the springs pull roller l' to the left, as viewed in this figure. As soon as the film feeding mechanism starts to draw the film t-o the right, as viewed in Figure 5, roller 51 isV pulled to the right against the bias of springs H5 and Hrt, and as this happens, brake band m5 is released, thus to free drum IM so that the film supply spool 3l] (Figure 2) may rotate freely. -As the film F stops moving, roller 57 (Figure 5) is pulled to the left by reason of the bias of springs Ht and Htc, and this movement of the roller being transmitted to arm III draws brake band m5 tightly around drum HB4, thus immediately applying a braking force through the band to the drum and thence to the lm supply spoolv 30. Thus the braking force applied to the lm supply spool is determined directly by the film itself, and no slack can form subsequent to the feed portion of the operative cycle. When it is necessary for the film supply spool to turn, the braking force on this spoon is almost completely removed, the force then immediately being applied to whatever extent is necessary to snub the Vspool quickly and permit any excessive slack from being created by the lm spool coasting after the proper amount of film has been fed.

Accordingly it may be seen that we have provided a film winding mechanism which attains the several objectsA hereinabove set forth in a thoroughly practical and efficient manner.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention, and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

l. In a film magazine for supporting and transporting large sized film to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a film supply spool, a iilm take-up spool, a nlm metering roller against which the lm is pressed to feed the film from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of winding operation, and means for driving said roller at a gradually accelerating rate then a gradually decelerating rate during the cycle of operation to feed film from the supply spool to the take-up spool first at an increasing linear velocity during the first part of the cycle to overcome the inertia of the lm without impressing peak loads on the driving means and then at a varying linear velocity during the latter part of the cycle.

2. In a film magazine for supporting and transporting large sized film to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a film supply spool, a film take-up spool, a film metering roller around which the film passes as it is fed from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of winding operation, and means for 'driving said roller first at a gradually accelerating rate and nally at a gradually decelerating rate during the -operative cycle to feed film from the supply to the take-up roll first at an increasing linear velocity during the first portion of the cycle, then at a constant linear velocity and nally at a decreasing linear velocity during the latter part of the cycle, whereby the inertia of the film and its supply spool at the first portion of the winding cycle is gradually overcome without imposing peak loads on the driving means.

3. In a film magazine for supporting and transporting large sized film to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a film supply spool, a lm take-up spool, a lm metering roller around which the film passes as it is fed from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of winding operation, gear means including a main constant speed driving gear and an idler gear for driving said roller, and means forming a variable speed driving connection between said gears for driving said idler gear and accordingly said roller at a varying rate during the cycle of operation.

4. In a film magazinefor supporting and transporting largev sized iilm to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a lm supply spool, a iilm take-up spool, a film metering roller around which the nlm passes as it is fed from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of Winding operation, gear means including a main constant speed driving gear and an idler gear for driving said roller, and cam and gear means forming a variable` speed driving connection between said gears for driving said idler gear and accordingly said roller Vat a varying rate during the cycle of operation.

5. Ina film magazine for Supporting and transporting large sized lm to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a iilm supply spool, a nlm Vtake-up spool, a lm metering roller around which the film passes as it is fed from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of winding operation, means including a main driving gear for driving said roller at a predetermined varying rate during the cycle of operation to feed film from the supply to `the take-up spool iirst at a gradually accelerating velocity and thereafter at a graduallydecelerating velocity, and means driven by said driving gear for driving said take-up spool during the cycle of operation to wind up film fed from said supply spool, a driving motor, and means forming a positive driving connection between saidV motor and said driving gear.

6. In'a lm magazine for supporting and transporting large sized film to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a film supply spool, a film take-up spool, a film metering roller around which the filmpasses as it is fed from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of winding operation, variable speed positive drive means for driving said'roller at predetermined gradually accelerating and thereafter decelerating rates during the cycle of operation to feed film from the supply to the take-up spool at varying linear velocities, means connected to said driving means and driven thereby for driving said take-up spool during the cycle of operation to wind up film fed from said supply spool, and means for varying the rate of operation of said take-up spool driving means,

7. In a lm magazine for supporting and transporting large sized lm to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a film supply spool, a lm take-up spool, a film metering roller around which the film passes as it is fed from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of winding operation, variable speed drive means for driving said roller at predetermined gradually acceler-ating and thereafter decelerating vrates during the cycle of roperation tofeed lm from the supply to the takeup spool at varying linear velocities, means connected to said driving means and driven thereby for driving said take-up spool during the cycle of operation to wind up-film fed from said supply spool, and means controlled by the tension of the film between said roller and said take-'up spool for varying the rate of operation of said 'take-up spool driving means.

8. In a iilm magazine for supporting and. transporting large sized lm to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a lmsupply spool, a film take-up spool, means for feeding film from said supply spool to be wound on said take-up spool, means for driving said film feeding means, a rotatable lm tension roller over which the iilm passes, means mounting said roller between said iilm feeding means and said take-up spool for movement toward and away from said take-up spool, a rotatable film tension roller over which the lm passes from said supply spool to said lm feeding means, means mounting said second-mentioned tension roller between said supply spool and said film feeding means in the path of film travel for movement toward and away from said supply spool, mechanism driven by said lm feeding means for driving said take-up spool including means responsive to movement of said rst tension roller to vary the rate of' operation of said take-up spool, the movement' of said first tension roller being toward and away from said take-up spool as the lm tension between said take-up spool and said lm feeding means varies, a brake for said supply spool, and means responsive to movement of said second-mentioned roller away from said supply spool for' operating said brake to reduce the speed of said supply spool..

9. In a lm magazine for supporting and transporting large sized film to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, a lm supply spool, a lm take-up spool, a lm metering roller around which the lm passes as it is fed from the supply to the take-up spool during a cycle of winding operation, means for driving said roller first at a gradually accelerating rate and thereafter at agradually decelerating rate during the cycle of operation to feed film from the supply to the take-up spool at varying linear velocities, means driven by said roller driving means for driving said: takeup spool during the operative cycle, means. re'- sponsive to varying amounts of slack in the film between said metering roller and said take-up spool for varying the rate of operation of said take-up spool driving means, a brake for said supply spool, and means responsive' to a lessening` of tension in the lm between said supply spool and said film metering roller for operatingsaid brake to reduce-the rate of rotation of said supply spool'.

10. In a film magazine for supporting and transporting large sized film to be exposed in an aerial camera, in combination, allm supply spool, a lm take-up spool, means for feeding film from said supply spool to be wound on said take-up spool, means including input and output gears for driving said rst-mentioned means at a varying rate during 'the cycle of operation to feed film from the supply to the take-up spool at varying linear velocities, gear means connected to said output gear and to said take-up spool for driving said take-up spool during the cycle of operation to windy up lm fed from said supply spool, and means for Varying the rate of operation of said take-up spool driving means.

1l. In camera construction, in combination, a film supply spool, a film take-up spool, means including a metering roller and a pressure roller for feeding iilm from said supply spool to `be wound on said take-up spool, variable speed driving means operatively connected to said metering roller for driving said metering roller and accordinglyl feeding the lm at predetermined rates of acceleration and deceleration throughout each operative cycle, means driven by said driving means and connected' to said take-upy spool for drivingy said take-up spool during the winding cycle, whereby said take-up spool is also driven at varying rates of acceleration and deceleration during the operative cycle, and means responsive to varying amounts of slack in the lm between saidfeeding means and said take-up spool for varying the rate of operation of said take-up spool driving means.

12. In camera construction, in combination, a

' lm supply spool, a lm take-up spool, a film transporting device in thepath of ilm` travel be'- tween said. spoolsl for gripping the lm and trans porting it along a path between the supply spool and the-take-up spool during a cycle of operation, and variable speedA mechanism connected to said transporting device for driving said device rst at agradually accelerating rate andI later at a gradually decelerating rate during the cycle of operation so thatthe iilmis transported first at an increasing linear velocity during the first part of thecycle to overcome the inertia of the-'nlm without impressing peak loads on said mechanism and then at a varying linear velocity during the latter part of the cycle.

IRVING' W. DO'YLE,

REGINA-ID A. WHITE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number' Name Date 309,722 Maertens Dec'. 23, 1884 1,628,939 Wells Mayv 127, 1927 1,786,917 Oehmichen Dec. 30, 1930 2,027,818 Golber Jan. 14, 1936 2,107,074v Hineline Feb. 1, 1938 2,199,603 Ackley May 7, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,897 Great Britain Aug. 2, 1904 

